Steve_Perry
MB Enthusiast
As many of you will recall, StuartB ran a competition a number of weeks ago where the winner would enjoy the chance to attend a track day at Goodwood racing circuit. Well the winner was me! 
and the track day was held yesterday.
I traveled up the night before, to stay with Stuart and his lovely wife Annette. As I arrived at Stuart's cottage he was there playing (stripping out rear seats and trim) with his new toy, a race prepared Peugeot 205. Although this car isn't much to look at (certainly not when parked right next to Stu's gorgeous Aston Martin DB7 in burgundy), in fact from a distance it looks like a stock 205 GTI with load of stickers all it, it certainly doesn't drive like a run of the mill 205
There are some tell tale clues such as the racing exhaust in the centre of the rear of the car, full roll cage, stripped interior and racing seats with full body harness, however, the biggest give away is the noise and the way the car handles on the road, it is seriously quick, heh I can't stress that enough. Well after the last remnants of daylight disappeared Stuart, Ben (a friend of Stu's who was also attending the track day) and I retired for an evening's practice using a 'PlayStation 2' and a game called 'Gran Turismo 3: A-spec' At this point I'd like to thank Annette who must have the patience of a saint for cooking a cracking evening meal for 3 wannabe juveniles playing computer games.
Before Stuart, Ben and I got to the track day event at Goodwood, Gareth and Ken (Gareth's Dad) arrived early in the morning to do a little more prep work to the 205. Gareth used to own and race the Peugeot before selling his car on to Stuart, so he really knew all there was to know about the little Pug. I didn't catch all the mod's but some include all ports and manifolds internally polished to mirror finish, chip upgrade, racing clutch, racing gearbox and many more I'm sure I'm not aware of. Since the car is still road legal Stu and I used it to get to Goodwood.
Once at Goodwood, we got to see the cars that were running for the day. They consisted mainly of Ferraris and Porsches with a couple of Scoobies, 3 Minis (hired for the day apparently ), one Caterham (awesome car), a couple of Peugeot 205s, 3 VW Passats used by the instructors to train us Joe public novices and one or two others BUT NO Mercs in sight, bummer, 
Oh well, it wasn't a biggie.
Firstly, we had to 'sign in' and once that was done 3 of us were taken out on the track in a VW Passat by an instructor. Initially the instructor did 3 laps to show us the ropes then we all got 3 laps each, under instruction to make sure we didn't do anything silly whilst out driving and also to explain the rules, i.e. flag instructions and letting faster cars pass and passing slower cars. While we were out learning in the Passat, Gareth was driving the Peugeot 205 around the track and keeping pace with the Ferraris
which unfortunately, angered one Ferrari driver, so much so, he complained and wanted Gareth to leave, since this ****y bloke was the main client of the day, Gareth decided not to cause any more upset and rather graciously left... a very great shame imho. I would have loved to have been passenger whilst Gareth was gunning it round the track. I wish him the best for the next race season where I think he's entering in touring car racing, I'm sure Stu knows more details.
After learning in the Passat, I met another attendee called Julian who works for Aston Martin. Julian had brought his Caterham to the track day to give it its first real outing around a track. Julian kindly allowed me to ride as passenger while he did a number of laps around Goodwood. What an awesome drive and what an incredible car!! This car has bags of torque/power and grip, it seems to defy the laws of physics. Julian is an excellent driver too. I couldn't stop laughing as he chucked this Caterham around the track and the car just did as it was told. I had a big smile after that experience.
After that we took it in turns to take out Stuart's Peugeot 205 and again this car is a bundle of fun. This car is that good it inspires confidence in your own driving. Very quick and very sweet handling but damn that steering wheel is stiff at anything less than 10mph it feels like it's seized and I'm sure a normal 205 has a tighter turning circle but once out on the track this car corners brilliantly.
I missed my chance for a ride in a Ferrari
I was next in line and when the car was out on the track it suffered a mechanical failure and had to come limping home. Apparently something had melted in the engine causing exhaust damage. D'Oh, oh well, one of those things.
At about 4:30pm some light dusting of rain hit the track and by 5pm we decided it was time to call it a day. Richard (One of Stu's colleagues at DreamtoReality) and I took the 205 back to Stuart's house and in some respects this was just as much fun as the day at Goodwood
Thanks Rich!
A thoroughly enjoyable day, I loved it and I'm keen to experience another.
Favorite moment: Being driven round in the Caterham!
Scariest moment: Seeing a Scooby Impreza spin out on a corner and eat grass in front of me whilst I was driving solo "Don't hit me you muppet!".
A big thanks to...
Stuart and Annette for their hospitality and for making me feel so welcome to their house and home... Also for inviting me to the track day in the first place, especially knowing that Stuart didn't get off to the best of starts here at the MBClub.
Ben for being such a laugh at GT3.
Graham and Ken for putting all the effort in preparing the Pug, sorry you didn't get to stay guys.
Julian for kindly letting me ride shotgun in his incredible Caterham... Awesome (G. I see why your bro has one now)
Richard for driving like a nutter on the way back to Stu's house A great laugh!
and many others for making it a very memorable day.
So who's up for an MBClub trackday/GTG?
S.
(Crappy phone pics to follow, once I've hacked out a few number plates)
and the track day was held yesterday.I traveled up the night before, to stay with Stuart and his lovely wife Annette. As I arrived at Stuart's cottage he was there playing (stripping out rear seats and trim) with his new toy, a race prepared Peugeot 205. Although this car isn't much to look at (certainly not when parked right next to Stu's gorgeous Aston Martin DB7 in burgundy), in fact from a distance it looks like a stock 205 GTI with load of stickers all it, it certainly doesn't drive like a run of the mill 205
There are some tell tale clues such as the racing exhaust in the centre of the rear of the car, full roll cage, stripped interior and racing seats with full body harness, however, the biggest give away is the noise and the way the car handles on the road, it is seriously quick, heh I can't stress that enough. Well after the last remnants of daylight disappeared Stuart, Ben (a friend of Stu's who was also attending the track day) and I retired for an evening's practice using a 'PlayStation 2' and a game called 'Gran Turismo 3: A-spec' At this point I'd like to thank Annette who must have the patience of a saint for cooking a cracking evening meal for 3 wannabe juveniles playing computer games.Before Stuart, Ben and I got to the track day event at Goodwood, Gareth and Ken (Gareth's Dad) arrived early in the morning to do a little more prep work to the 205. Gareth used to own and race the Peugeot before selling his car on to Stuart, so he really knew all there was to know about the little Pug. I didn't catch all the mod's but some include all ports and manifolds internally polished to mirror finish, chip upgrade, racing clutch, racing gearbox and many more I'm sure I'm not aware of. Since the car is still road legal Stu and I used it to get to Goodwood.
Once at Goodwood, we got to see the cars that were running for the day. They consisted mainly of Ferraris and Porsches with a couple of Scoobies, 3 Minis (hired for the day apparently
), one Caterham (awesome car), a couple of Peugeot 205s, 3 VW Passats used by the instructors to train us Joe public novices and one or two others BUT NO Mercs in sight, bummer, Oh well, it wasn't a biggie.Firstly, we had to 'sign in' and once that was done 3 of us were taken out on the track in a VW Passat by an instructor. Initially the instructor did 3 laps to show us the ropes then we all got 3 laps each, under instruction to make sure we didn't do anything silly whilst out driving and also to explain the rules, i.e. flag instructions and letting faster cars pass and passing slower cars. While we were out learning in the Passat, Gareth was driving the Peugeot 205 around the track and keeping pace with the Ferraris
which unfortunately, angered one Ferrari driver, so much so, he complained and wanted Gareth to leave, since this ****y bloke was the main client of the day, Gareth decided not to cause any more upset and rather graciously left... a very great shame imho. I would have loved to have been passenger whilst Gareth was gunning it round the track. I wish him the best for the next race season where I think he's entering in touring car racing, I'm sure Stu knows more details.After learning in the Passat, I met another attendee called Julian who works for Aston Martin. Julian had brought his Caterham to the track day to give it its first real outing around a track. Julian kindly allowed me to ride as passenger while he did a number of laps around Goodwood. What an awesome drive and what an incredible car!!
This car has bags of torque/power and grip, it seems to defy the laws of physics. Julian is an excellent driver too. I couldn't stop laughing as he chucked this Caterham around the track and the car just did as it was told. I had a big smile after that experience.After that we took it in turns to take out Stuart's Peugeot 205 and again this car is a bundle of fun. This car is that good it inspires confidence in your own driving. Very quick and very sweet handling but damn that steering wheel is stiff at anything less than 10mph it feels like it's seized and I'm sure a normal 205 has a tighter turning circle but once out on the track this car corners brilliantly.
I missed my chance for a ride in a Ferrari
I was next in line and when the car was out on the track it suffered a mechanical failure and had to come limping home. Apparently something had melted in the engine causing exhaust damage. D'Oh, oh well, one of those things.At about 4:30pm some light dusting of rain hit the track and by 5pm we decided it was time to call it a day. Richard (One of Stu's colleagues at DreamtoReality) and I took the 205 back to Stuart's house and in some respects this was just as much fun as the day at Goodwood
Thanks Rich!A thoroughly enjoyable day, I loved it and I'm keen to experience another.
Favorite moment: Being driven round in the Caterham!
Scariest moment: Seeing a Scooby Impreza spin out on a corner and eat grass in front of me whilst I was driving solo
"Don't hit me you muppet!".A big thanks to...
Stuart and Annette for their hospitality and for making me feel so welcome to their house and home... Also for inviting me to the track day in the first place, especially knowing that Stuart didn't get off to the best of starts here at the MBClub.
Ben for being such a laugh at GT3.
Graham and Ken for putting all the effort in preparing the Pug, sorry you didn't get to stay guys.
Julian for kindly letting me ride shotgun in his incredible Caterham... Awesome (G. I see why your bro has one now)
Richard for driving like a nutter on the way back to Stu's house
A great laugh! and many others for making it a very memorable day.
So who's up for an MBClub trackday/GTG?
S.
(Crappy phone pics to follow, once I've hacked out a few number plates)
Numpties are everywhere ... Luca should come and repossess his car 
I have one sitting atop my monitor. The 360 Stradale does run it a close second though ...
